The National Hockey League and the Olympics

Article by Cornell Law student, Douglas Chalke.

Prior to 1998, the National Hockey League did not take a hiatus for the Winter Olympics. For the past five Winter Olympics, however, the Games have featured a collection of the best hockey players in the world. With the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi ending only a few days ago, questions are already circulating about whether the NHL will allow its players to compete in 2018 in Pyeongchang. In place of the Olympics, the NHL is considering re-instating the World Cup of Hockey, which ran seven times from 1976-2004. The stated reasons for pulling players from the Olympics, though, have been flawed and logically incoherent.

Many of those who oppose the use of NHL players in the Olympics have recently voiced their displeasure, none more candidly than New York Islanders general manager, Garth Snow. After Islanders star John Tavares was injured in Sochi, Snow lashed out saying, “This is probably the biggest reason NHL players shouldn’t be in the Olympics… We lost our best player and he wasn’t even [injured while] playing for us.”

Snow has a legitimate grievance. Tavares will likely be sidelined the rest of the season, and that will surely hurt his organization in both wins and ticket sales. The only solution to this problem, however, would be to have no international hockey tournaments involving NHL players. Replacing Olympic hockey with World Cup hockey would not create fewer injuries unless you think for some reason NHL players are less likely to get injured in hockey games sponsored by the NHL than in hockey games sponsored by the IIHF. Not having NHL players participate in any international tournament, meanwhile, ignores opportunities to grow the game beyond the traditional markets.

Also speaking out against allowing NHL players to participate in the Olympics is former NHL defenseman, Mark Howe. When asked why, Howe responded, “I just like the amateur so much better… [because] you get the stories of the Mike Eruziones and the Jim Craigs.”

Howe’s romantic characterization of amateur hockey at the Olympics makes sense when you think about 1980’s “Miracle on Ice,” when Team USA, staffed with amateur hockey players, overcame the powerhouse U.S.S.R. to win gold in Lake Placid. Removing NHL players from the Olympics because of that idealization, however, does not stand up to scrutiny. For starters, removing NHL players would not make the Olympics an amateur tournament. The NHL is the best professional hockey league, but it is not the only one. Players from other professional leagues like the KHL, the SHL, and Liiga, would still send their best players to Pyeongchang, even if the NHL did not. An Olympics without NHL players would not be an amateur tournament -- it would be a professional tournament without the best professional players. 

Moreover, removing NHL players from the Olympics does not make Cinderella stories like the Miracle on Ice any more likely. When Howe talks about “the Mike Eruziones and the Jim Craigs” he is talking about one story. The four Olympics before 1980 and the three following were all won by the U.S.S.R./Russia. Team USA beating the Soviet Union was a remarkable upset and maybe the inspiring sports story of all time. But the story is so remarkable because an underdog performed to unique success, not because it is representative of amateur hockey.

Underdogs are ever-present in the NHL era of the Olympics, they just don’t come from the United States. If there is an inspiring upset to win gold with NHL players present, it could be a team like Switzerland or Latvia. The Mike Eruziones of the future could be someone like Paul DiPietro who scored two goals for Switzerland in the 2006 Olympics to upset Canada. The Jim Craigs could be someone like 21-year-old Latvian goalie Kristers Gudlevskis who stopped 55 of 57 shots in a nail-baiting 2-1 loss to Team Canada in the quarterfinals in Sochi. While there hasn’t been an Olympic story like the Miracle on Ice since 1980, and there may never be again, there is no reason to believe that having NHL players in the Olympics makes such a story less likely. Rather, it means the Cinderella team won’t be Team Canada or Team USA.

Finally, while Olympic stories wouldn’t be any better in the absence of NHL players, the quality of hockey would surely be worse. In Sochi, fans were treated to exceptional narratives and exceptional hockey. T.J. Oshie became a household name scoring a whopping four shootout goals to lift the Americans over the Russians. 43-year-old Teemu Selanne was named MVP of the tournament in his sixth Olympics after scoring two goals, including the game winner, in the bronze medal game for Finland. In 2010, the gold-medal game between the USA and Canada was one of the fastest-paced and most exciting hockey games ever played. The game culminated with an overtime winner from Sidney Crosby, creating a “where were you when” moment for this generation of hockey fans. None of this would have happened without NHL players in the Olympics.

Perhaps NHL players will not be allowed to participate in 2018 Winter Olympics and the NHL will instead bring back the World Cup of Hockey. But doing so will not reduce injuries, nor will it create better Olympic stories. It will just make the quality of hockey worse.